The withholding of wages has a demoralizing effect upon both employer and employee. The employer loses his awareness of sin. Often we hear explanations and rationalizations of withholding of wages, as though the employer has the right to extend himself credit from workers' funds for the benefit of his enterprise. The employee is demoralized, because it seems to him that he is not receiving recompense for his work; he is liable to conclude that there is no value in striving to support himself from the work of his hands. An original Jewish outlook establishes wage-withholding as a Torah prohibition. Our Sages, with deep understanding of the problem, included this law in "dinei nefashot" – laws governing capital cases. In the words of the Talmud: "On his payday you must pay him his wages . . . for he is afflicted, for to it he lifts his life- breath," – For what does he climb the ladder and hangs from the tree and endanger his life, if not for his wages? Hiding a worker's wages is the equivale nt of taking his life. (Bava Metsia 112a)

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Reading "I am God" in Vayikra 19 As Internal Punctuation

There are good reasons for considering Parashat Kedoshim as the focal point of the Torah. It contains some of the most basic mitzvot -- "Love your neighbor as yourself", for example -- and allusions to the Ten Commandments. The Holy One, Blessed Be He, reveals Himself in first person, "I am God", sixteen times in Chapter 19 alone. Beyond the significance of the revelation itself, the proclamation has great significance as an instrument for revealing 'the ways of Torah'. There is no doubt that the phrases "I am the Lord" and "I am the Lord your God" serve as punctuation for the words of God, beginning with "Holy are you to be" and ending with the closing of Chapter 19 -- "You are to keep all my laws, etc." It is rare that the Torah divides its component parts in such a clear manner. By examining the structure of the components and their connections, we are able to learn some of the Torah's innermost secrets. I will illustrate this with a unit composes of three triads.

"My laws you are to keep" (19)

Your animal, you are not to mate in two-kinds; Your field, you are not to sow with two kinds; A garment of two-kinds, of shaatnez, is not to go on you

If a man has relations with emission of seed, with a woman who is a slave and has been designated for another man, but has not been redeemed or given her freedom, there shall be an indemnity; they shall not, however, be put to death, since she has not been freed. But he must bring to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, as his guilt offering to the Lord, a ram of guilt offering. With the ram of guilt offering the priest shall make expiation for him before the Lord for the sin that he committed; 3. And the sin that he commit- ted will be forgiven him.

1. When you enter the land and plant any tree for food, you shall regard its fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden to you, not to be eaten. 2. In the fourth year all its fruit shall be set aside for jubilation before the Lord. 3. and only in the fifth year may you use its fruit – that its yield to you may be increased

The internal punctuation which divides the text into sub-units – the closing phrase "I am the Lord your God" – attests that the three subjects, kilayim (mixed species), the designated female slave, and orlah ('uncircumcised' fruits), although ostensibly unrelated, do, in fact, make up a designed unit. Were the Torah not to have delineated the components so clearly, we would never have thought that these three subjects constitute a single unit. Kilayim and orlah do have a connection – they are related to plants; but the designated slave woman? What connection can there be between her and agriculture? We are forced to seek a covert connection in the text. There is a hint in the use of the word zera – seed – which appears in relation to the first two laws. In each of the three columns there is connection to propagation: ". . . not to mate . . .", ". . . emission of seed . . ." " . . . it's fruit". If the uniting factor is indeed propagation, we have proof that the Torah is speaking metaphorically, and that its wider significance extends beyond the boundaries of peshat – of the simple meaning. Deeper inspection of this selection strengthens this thesis.

If our topic is indeed propagation, the three columns are arranged in highly logical order. In 1, we read of "propagation in practice". Because of the prohibitions, there is neither mating nor planting. The order is progression from the potential to the performed. There is additional evidence that the three subject compose a unified conceptual body.

There is undeniable Halakhic progression. In the left column we find only prohibitions. On the right side are positive commandments. In the middle there is a 'gray area' – neither commandment nor actual prohibition – "they shall not, however, be put to death, since she has not been freed." There is expiation through "he must bring . . . his guilt offering." Thus the propagation-based three-part metaphor has a Halakhic basis. The division into three is also expressed on a grammatical plane. All prohibitions in the first column are formulated in the singular; the commandments in the third column appear in the plural. The obligation is directed at the nation – "when you enter the land" ["You" is in the plural]. In the center column we find both single and plural – "they shall not be put to death". We find private behavior by individuals – cohabitation – and the public act of bringing an offering "to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting".

Thus far we have found in the three columns three conceptual areas related to each other in different ways. On the right we found individualism. Particulars do not connect with each other because of the prohibitions against kilayim. Each stands alone, in its own domain. On the right is found a positive commandments directed at the entire nation dwelling in own land, one bringing a blessing of increase – " . . . you use its fruit – its yield to you may be increased." Between the field of isolated particulars on the left, and the general field on the right, we find the subject of the designated female slave. He we find individuals adversely affecting accepted social organization and convention by separating from the others for the sake of assignation. The antidote for this damage to social morality is to appear in the very locus of society bearing his guilt offering. We have begun to discern the hidden face of Torah.

A general rule may be derived from the organization of the three-part section before us. An element found in the middle (center column) is also the conceptual bridge between the preceding and following units. In contrast to oral presentation, in which the main point is made at the end, the Torah places in the center. In speaking, the logical order of presenting a three-part idea is: thesis, antithesis, synthesis – a statement, its opposite, and a third statement which bridges the opposites. The important idea appears at the end. In contrast to "aural" logic, the Torah presents its ideas visually, the bridge is found in the center.

The method which I am presenting for deciphering abstruse parts of the Torah is not to found in pshat explication. Yet it does have a relationship to one of the earliest sources: Sefer HaYetsira (The Book of Creation). According to one of the descriptions found in this book, reality is divided into three experiences, en"year, soul, and world". "Year" refers to time and also all that affects man, like the heavenly cycles. Again "year" is found "world" which is the material world which man controls. Between the two is "soul", described as "male and female". Here we have the power of propagation – on one hand, found in man, but on the other, it is dependent upon factors which man does not totally control. The three-part selection we are studying is built upon the basic concepts of Sefer HaYetsira. The subject of orlat eitzim, 'uncircumcised' trees, is clearly dependent upon "Year." The subject of the designation slave woman is built upon "Male and Female", like the concept of "Soul" in Sefer HaYetsira. And finally, in the "World" of material nature, the ox does not mate with the cat. This is "unnatural". Thus, Sefer HaYetsira is a basis for explaining the Torah.

Throughout generations, young children began to study Torah from the middle, from the Book of Vayikra. Here is evidence that the Torah itself employs the rule of organization which determines that the principal is centrally positioned. The Torah's style, like that of the Sefer Yetsira, focuses our selection on human experience. At the extremes (columns 1 and 3) are laws formulated in terms of prohibition and obligation. In the middle is a 'story' about a real person, with all his emotions and weaknesses, his drives and his feelings. This person sins by leaning in the direction of one of the extremes, towards the prohibition; he seeks personal satisfaction with no thought of continuity. The actions of this mind resemble kilayim, which must be destroyed. But there is tikkun for this man. He can direct his behavior toward the other extreme, toward public involvement "He shall bring his guilt offering to God at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting." When he contributes his offering to the focal point of society, he repairs his egotism; facing him is society's representative who atones for him "and the priest shall atone for him." Then The Holy One, Blessed Be He, also forgives him, and he is eligible to receive the blessing of plenty along with the public. The Torah describes a human condition, the condition of everyone caught in the tension between his uniqueness as an individual, and his obligations as part of society.

We have seen that focusing upon the significance of the Torah's internal division can lead to a new kind of commentary, explication which unites seemingly disparate elements. May it be His will that we be able to do so with all worlds and experiences, to unite the separate and thus bring pleasure to our Father in Heaven and to Man who was created in His image.

We read in our parasha "Before the blind you are not to place a stumbling- block; rather you are to hold your God in awe; I am the Lord." (19:14). A plain reading has this passage dealing with causing a blind man to stumble. All commentators, however, widen the prohibition to include mental blindness.

This expansion is based upon the end of the passage, "you are to hold your God in awe". Rashi writes, "And so, regarding everything which lies in the heart of the perpetrator, unknown to others, the Torah states: "You are to hold your God in awe".

In addition, Malbim explains the double meaning of the term "blind" – "the verb pikeach [Translator's note: The Hebrew root peh, kuf, het means both 'intelligent' and 'open'] proves that (our passage) is dealing with blindness of the intelligence."

Rambam, too, (Guide for the Perplexed, Article 1) "Know that this word pikeach, can be explained only as revelation of knowledge."

A prohibition of causing a blind person to stumble does not require the addition "You are to hold your God in awe". The blind person may be aware of the identity of the person who caused him to stumble; others may inform him. Therefore, our Sages coined the term "summa l'davar" [Literally, "Blind to s Specific Thing"], blind in a certain respect, referring to one whose stumbling is a result of intentional misleading.

Our Sages, in the Sifra, on Parashat Kedoshim, describe three categories of summa l'davar:

0. Incitement to sinful action (e.g., marriage to a forbidden woman)
1. Dangerous advice (e.g., a journey which may end in death)
2. Counsel which may result in monetary damage (e.g., loss of possession of land)

Nechama Leibowitz explained that the last-mentioned category is the most severe from the point of view of the adviser, because he is the instigator – "He (the mislead) does not come to you, you come to him and convince him do something which is not in his interests" (Studies in Book of Shemot). Particularly in monetary affairs, people permit themselves to advise and recommend in potentially damaging affairs.

Thus it is that, from among the tens of examples of summa l'davar which appear in the Mishna and Talmud, Rashi chooses "Do not tell him, 'Sell your field and buy yourself a donkey' and then you circumvent him and take it from him," which is considered less severe and is therefore more recurrent. We are speaking of actions in which the instigator will not stand trial and be punished, because advice is not a crime.

There have always been hawkers and advisers who entice people to purchase unnecessary items at inflated prices, but in our generation advertising methods have been perfected, and few can resist them.

To point out just a few advertising gimmicks which are considered legitimate: misleading photos, prices quoted in foreign currency, complicated installment plans, imaginary "sales", important information in small print (V.A.T., shipping costs, linkage to index, interest, cancellation fees, etc.).

Actually we are all "blind to something," but there are three especially endangered groups: Children, the aged, and the disabled. These groups lack adequate tools for resisting the strong temptation.

Great dangers also lurk in government-sponsored lotteries; their legality sanitizes all advertising ploys. No one bothers to inform the gamblers (many of whom are indigent, disabled, unemployed) who lack the information to calculate their infinitesimal chances of winning. Attraction to gambling is known to be a type of addiction to which one becomes enslaved – like alcohol and drugs. Therefore, we mention here the words of the Rambam (Laws of Murder and Life Preservation, chap. 12) "Therefore, whoever causes a blind person to stumble in some way, and gives him misleading advice, or lends a hand to a sinner, who is blind and does not see the way of truth because of his heart's passion, this person has transgressed a Torah prohibition, as is written: "Before the blind you are not to place a stumbling - block"

Editorial Board: Pinchas Leiser (Editor), Miriam Fine (Coordinator), Itzhak Frankenthal and Dr. Menachem Klein

Translation: Kadish Goldberg

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